John Sumser, author of A Land Without Time: A Peace Corps Volunteer in Afghanistan , his true story of Afghanistan prior to, and during, the communist coup of 1979, told from the perspective of an American working as a Peace Corps volunteer in Afghanistan.
Since 9/11, the American appetite for information on Afghanistan has surged. The bulk of this information has come from the media, Afghan Scholars or from the Afghans themselves. For the first time, the story of Afghanistan prior to, and during, the communist coup of 1979 is told from the perspective of an American working as a Peace Corps volunteer in Afghanistan. The story begins with Peace Corps recruitment and training in the United States, then follows a group of young men and women to Afghanistan where they must learn to adapt to exotic food, mysterious customs and primitive hygiene. Then, as they begin to assimilate and feel comfortable in their harsh surroundings, a military coup leads to the arrest of the author, who is accused of being an American spy and beaten in an effort to make him reveal secrets he doesn't have. Eventually, the author is extricated from prison as a new communist regime solidifies its hold on Afghanistan after centuries of Islamic dominance. Thus the chain of events leading to 9/II is set in motion. Only a handful of foreigners lived in Afghanistan when destabilization began in the late seventies and, of this handful, none has attempted to document the country's transition from its centuries-old status-quo to a factory for global insurgency.
Bio
John R. Sumser
John Robert Sumser was born in Philadelphia and earned an MA in Philosophy at San Jose University, and an MA and PhD in Sociology at SUNY, Stony Brook, NY. He is a Professor of Communications Studies at California State University, Stanislaus. He is the author of "Mass Communication or Mass Confusion: Meaning in Prime Time Television," for which he received a grant award, and a number of books in the communications field.
It is really interesting to view Afghanistan in 1979 through the eyes of an American Peace Corps volunteer. His descriptions of the role of women are especially captivating. I can’t believe it was against the law for an American man to talk to an Afghan woman!